Score history
9.85 ↓ 9.48
2026-05-22
9.48
2026-05-06
9.67
2026-05-04
9.85
Initial rating
My Take
No matter how many games I play, no matter how good they are, this one will always remain in my top ten. By today’s standards, the graphics aren’t the best, but it’s older than half of the people I know. The graphics were great at the time, and they honestly still hold up today. But what makes this game special is the presentation combined with the overlapping story and, most importantly, how the game mechanics made you go insane. Literally.
I am not going to spoil this game for you because I think everyone who enjoys video games should play this game at least once, and you should go into it without a true understanding of what’s going to happen when you do. But let me just say a few things. First, the story is truly incredible. You play as multiple people throughout different points in history, tied together by a single thread that is both heroic and tragic. That alone makes this game one of the most memorable experiences of my gaming life.
But then there’s the sanity meter. Sure, other games have done that since, but this was the first that I’m aware of that did it and did it in a way that might have actually driven you crazy. There’s a health meter and a mana meter like in most games, but it’s that sanity meter that really made this game stand out. You had to manage your sanity along with your health and mana, and it did some truly incredible things in terms of gaslighting the player. Without going into too much detail, so I don’t ruin it for you, the camera was usually in a fixed position, but the more insane you became, the worse the camera angles became. You might go from one end of a hallway to another, and by the time you got there, the camera was at a 90-degree angle from where it started.
And then there are the sounds. The more insane you get, the more you hear things that will disturb and annoy you, like children giggling, people crying, and your character freaking out because they’re, well, going insane. I want to go into great detail right now about what you might encounter as you slowly lose your mind, but I consider that a spoiler on the level of discovering who Luke Skywalker’s father is before the big reveal.
This game set a high bar that has rarely been surpassed over the decades. It’s an underappreciated absolute gem of a video game that should be on every gamer’s must-play list. If other games make it into my top ten as time progresses, I will adjust my ratings to ensure it remains near the top. I genuinely believe it’s one of the best games ever produced, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I take off my top ten list.
My Take
No matter how many games I play, no matter how good they are, this one will always remain in my top ten. By today’s standards, the graphics aren’t the best, but it’s older than half of the people I know. The graphics were great at the time, and they honestly still hold up today. But what makes this game special is the presentation combined with the overlapping story and, most importantly, how the game mechanics made you go insane. Literally.
I am not going to spoil this game for you because I think everyone who enjoys video games should play this game at least once, and you should go into it without a true understanding of what’s going to happen when you do. But let me just say a few things. First, the story is truly incredible. You play as multiple people throughout different points in history, tied together by a single thread that is both heroic and tragic. That alone makes this game one of the most memorable experiences of my gaming life.
But then there’s the sanity meter. Sure, other games have done that since, but this was the first that I’m aware of that did it and did it in a way that might have actually driven you crazy. There’s a health meter and a mana meter like in most games, but it’s that sanity meter that really made this game stand out. You had to manage your sanity along with your health and mana, and it did some truly incredible things in terms of gaslighting the player. Without going into too much detail, so I don’t ruin it for you, the camera was usually in a fixed position, but the more insane you became, the worse the camera angles became. You might go from one end of a hallway to another, and by the time you got there, the camera was at a 90-degree angle from where it started.
And then there are the sounds. The more insane you get, the more you hear things that will disturb and annoy you, like children giggling, people crying, and your character freaking out because they’re, well, going insane. I want to go into great detail right now about what you might encounter as you slowly lose your mind, but I consider that a spoiler on the level of discovering who Luke Skywalker’s father is before the big reveal.
This game set a high bar that has rarely been surpassed over the decades. It’s an underappreciated absolute gem of a video game that should be on every gamer’s must-play list. If other games make it into my top ten as time progresses, I will adjust my ratings to ensure it remains near the top. I genuinely believe it’s one of the best games ever produced, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I take off my top ten list.
Reviewed January 1, 2002 · Last updated May 22, 2026
